Ludmila Martanovschi -
The Translation of the Ethnic Minority Discourse from the U.S.A. to Romania. The Case of the Rroma
(pag. 141-148)
The present study explores the elements of ethnic minority discourse that have traveled from the United States of America to minority organizations in post-communist Romania and determines to what extent these cultural imports have been translated, or in other words, adapted locally. The multicultural model that has been influential in the United States over many decades puts forth equality and civil rights for all citizens irrespective of ethnicity, and thus strengthens the ideal of democracy that has always marked the United States ever since their foundation. The study more specifically investigates the ways in which American multicultural policies such as affirmative action have influenced the discourse of the Rroma ethnic community. The research starts from the study of ethnic minority discourse in the United States and extends to the application of the terminology to the phenomena and evolutions in contemporary Romania. Recent theoretical works as well as several studies on the Rroma people will enlighten the problematics of the ethnic community in question.